When It Rains, It Pours
by SethRocks
Summary: Nathaniel invites Marc over to his house to work on their comic. Marc agrees and has a nice afternoon spending time with the artist.


Marc hums as the bus rumbles and drives down the road. He's feeling excited, but also anxious at the idea of being in Nathaniel's house. He couldn't say no though when his comic partner asked him to come to his house to work together alone. After a few minutes, the bus slows down and halts to a stop. Marc stands up once it's not moving and makes his way off of the bus.

He looks around and pulls out his phone to input the address he was given so he can get directions since he doesn't know this area. He enters it and is relieved to see that it's not far: he only has a few minutes of walking to get to where he needs to go. He starts walking down the sidewalk, just looking at the houses passing him by, paying attention to the numbers on each one.

He stops in front of a red brick, two-story house with a brown roof and checks his phone to make sure it's the one he's supposed to be at. He sees that it is and puts his phone away before walking along the small path leading up to the front of the home. He looks around, liking the small flower beds below the windows on the front of the house. He soon stops in front of the large wooden door and feels slightly awkward as he knocks.

He always feels weird the first time he goes to someone else's house. He knocks a few times before stopping. There's nothing but silence for a few seconds, but then he hears footsteps coming from somewhere inside. The steps get louder and the door is opened to reveal Nathaniel. The writer smiles at him.

"Hey, Nath." Nathaniel instantly returns the taller boy's smile.

"Hi, Marc. Come on in."

Nath opens the door wide for the other boy. The green-eyed boy goes in and looks around a little, taking in a few details of Nath's home such as the few paintings hanging on the wall and the small plants in every windowsill. He also notices that there's a faint, delicious aroma lingering in the air. Nath figures that Marc can smell it and explains.

"My mom is starting dinner right now."

"It smells really good."

Suddenly, Nath's mom leaves the kitchen and approaches the two before smiling at the dark-haired boy. "You must be Marc. I've heard so much about you." She holds a hand out for him to shake. He takes it and gives her a small smile. They shake hands briefly before the woman speaks again.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour or two. I'll come to get you when it's ready."

"Thanks, mom. Come on Marc. We can go work in my room.", Nath says before walking into another part of the house, motioning for the other boy to follow.

The taller boy complies and follows the artist up the slightly creaky steps. He doesn't pay much attention to the decor of the upstairs hallway as they walk through it. They walk to the end of the hallway where a door is. The shy boy assumes that it leads into the redhead's bedroom and is shown that his assumption is right as Nathaniel opens it and enters the room.

Nathaniel goes and sits on his bed where his sketchbook is open and his things are set up like they are when he's working in the art room at school. Marc sets his bag down onto the desk in Nath's room before taking a seat. He pulls out his notebook and pencil before taking some time to look around his friend's room. He takes in the corkboard covered in post-it notes and papers littered with little doodles.

He smiles, enjoying the little drawings of flowers and some of the people in Nathaniel's class. He notices that one is of Marinette and has little hearts drawn around it. He knows that Nath used to have a crush on Marinette and it seems like he has one on Ladybug as well. He doesn't know why, but he feels bothered by that fact, but he quickly turns his attention to other things in the room, not wanting to think anymore about that.

As Marc is looking around his room, Nathaniel just watches him, admiring the way that the taller boy's beautiful green eyes are paying attention to the details of his room. He can't help but feel lucky to be working with someone who is so nice and incredibly smart.

Marc eventually settles his gaze onto Nathaniel and opens his notebook to show him some of the ideas he has for the future plot of the comic. They discuss things and talk through ideas for a while before they're interrupted by a knock on the door. Both boys look up at the door as the voice of Nathaniel's mom is heard through it.

"Dinner is finished."

"Okay. We'll come down shortly.", Nathaniel answers.

The dark-haired boy stands up and stretches, feeling slightly stiff from the position he's stayed in from sitting on the chair for so long. He waits as Nathaniel gets up from his place on the bed and heads to the door. They both head downstairs and notice that the smell from earlier is stronger now.

Marc follows the other boy into the small dining room that branches off from the kitchen. They enter the room to see places already set for them at the table. Nath's mom starts bringing in bowls and plates of food. Nathaniel starts helping her and Marc tries to as well, but is stopped by the redhead's mom.

"You don't have to help. You're a guest here.", she says kindly.

"I would feel better if I helped out since you've cooked.", Marc insists.

She smiles and gives in. "Okay then."

Marc brings the last bowl of food from the kitchen and places it on the table.

Soon, plates are made and dinner time is filled with delicious food being eaten and comfortable talk happening between all three people sitting at the table. As soon as dinner is finished, everyone helps out in cleaning up, which makes cleaning up easier and happen quickly. After that, the two boys head up the stairs and go back into Nath's room. Nath returns to his spot on the bed while Marc goes to sit down on the chair again. Before he can though, Nathaniel stops him.

"Hey, you can come sit on the bed if you want. It's more comfortable than that chair."

Marc decides it probably would be better to sit over there instead and nods. He walks over to the bed and sits down as Nath scoots over to make room for him to sit. He leans back against the large pillows on the bed and feels that the bed is indeed more comfortable than sitting on the chair. He enjoys the softness of the bed while sitting quietly. The silence in the room lasts for a few seconds before it's broken.

"Wanna watch a movie?", Nathaniel asks, smiling at the other boy.

Marc is quick to answer him. "Sure."

Nathaniel looks through the movies in his room before pulling out a comedy. He turns his tv and dvd player on. Soon, the disc is placed into the player and takes a few seconds to load before beginning to play trailers for other movies. Nathaniel decides that it's a good time to go get some popcorn so they can enjoy a snack while watching. He speaks to the other boy before leaving the room.

"I'm going to go make us some popcorn. I'll be right back."

After the shorter boy leaves, Marc just busies himself by nervously picking at his fingernails while only paying a little attention to what's playing on the tv. He accidentally scratches some of the black polish off in the process. He inspects the damage and makes a mental note to fix it once he gets home. He hears the door open and looks up to see Nathaniel entering the room with a large bowl of buttery popcorn.

He smiles as the bed creaks from the other boy sitting down onto it. Nath grabs the dvd player remote from his bedside table and skips to the main menu. He then starts the movie and settles comfortably while putting the bowl of popcorn down in front of them. Marc smiles and takes his gloves off so he can enjoy the popcorn without worrying about getting butter on his gloves.

Nath watches him and realizes that this is the first time he has ever seen the taller boy without his gloves on. He quickly pushes the thought out of his head and turns his attention to the movie. They watch the movie while occasionally munching on popcorn, both of them enjoying the comfortable silence and each other's company. About forty minutes into the movie, Nath feels a sudden weight land on his shoulder and looks to the side to see Marc's eyes shut, his head resting on Nath's shoulder as he snores quietly.

Nath avoids moving as much as he can, not wanting to wake the sleeping boy. Not long after, the movie ends and the credits start rolling as the writer continues to sleep. Nath gets bored of watching the credits and lets his eyes wander to the boy using him as a pillow. He pays attention to the way that the sleeping boy's chest rises and falls softly as he slumbers peacefully.

Nath tentatively reaches a hand up and brushes some hair out of Marc's face before resting a hand on the other boy's cheek. Why can't he do this when Marc is awake? Why does everything have to be difficult? Nath feels a small amount of self frustration start growing as he thinks about his own inability to be brave enough to do the things he wants. While he's lost in thought, Marc's phone suddenly beeps loudly, signaling that a message has been received.

The artist jumps slightly and takes his hand off of Marc's face. Right after he does, the other boy stirs and opens his eyes slowly, looking entirely sleepy and adorable to Nathaniel and he picks his phone up before unlocking it and reading what was sent. He frowns slightly before speaking with a slightly sad tone.

"My mom just texted me. She said it's supposed to storm badly soon and she would like me to come home."

Nathaniel feels a little sad that Marc has to leave, but figures that it's better for him to arrive home safely if his mom is right.

"I'll walk with you to the bus stop if you want.", Nath offers.

Marc thinks about it for a few seconds. "Sure, if you're alright with doing that."

Nath answers in a kind tone. "I am."

The taller boy smiles as he starts gathering his things and putting them into his bag before slipping his gloves back onto his hands. He leaves the room and walks down the steps with Nath following him. They slowly head down the stairs before making their way to the front door. Nathaniel opens the door and holds it open for the writer.

"Thank you.", Marc says while walking through it. Nathaniel walks out right after the other boy, closing the door as he does so.

The pair walk down the path from the house and start heading down the sidewalk, noticing the dark clouds lingering in the sky above them and a gentle wind blowing. They walk close to each other, just enjoying a comfortable silence like earlier. Nath takes the time to think over everything he's been feeling towards the boy walking next to him.

He's figured out that he's crushing on him, having been through this twice before already, but this is his first crush on another boy. He finds himself wondering if he should reveal his feelings. He would like to, but he doesn't want to make things awkward or ruin the friendship between them. He knows that he is lucky to be friends with the other boy after what happened right after they first met.

He still feels bad for how he acted weeks back by the fountain when he thought that Marc was playing with his emotions and pulling a joke on him. Marc didn't have to forgive him for ripping up the pages of his notebook. But for whatever reason, the writer did and still wanted to work on a comic with him. He is pretty sure that if someone ripped up his drawings, he probably wouldn't have forgiven them.

As they are walking, the clouds above them get darker and seem to grow to cover the whole sky as the wind starts blowing harder. Then, the sky lets out a loud, booming clap of thunder and releases all of the water that it was holding back. Rain starts hitting the ground relentlessly, causing the two boys to look around for somewhere to take shelter from the storm.

Nathaniel notices that the bus stop they were heading to is about thirty feet away, so he grabs Marc's hand before quickly making his way to it. They run into the small space, grateful to be shielded from the rain and wind. Nath notices he is still holding the taller boy's hand and releases his hold as his cheeks turn a little pink.

Marc looks down at himself and frowns as he notices that his hoodie was not spared from the sudden rain and is practically soaked. He shrugs the wet clothing off and tries wringing as much water as he can out of it before giving up. He folds it up and sets it down onto the bench in the shelter. Nathaniel watches and assesses the state of his own jacket to see that it's a little wet on the outside but, thankfully, the material it's made of has ensured that it's still warm and dry on the inside. He takes it off before holding it out to Marc.

"You can wear this if you want.", he offers, not meeting Marc's eyes.

Marc looks slightly surprised. "Are you sure?", he asks.

Nathaniel simply nods. Marc smiles and feels a slight fluttery feeling in his stomach as he reaches out and takes the jacket before putting it on. He enjoys the dryness and warmth it offers him. Nath watches as Marc slips his jacket on and feels his face heat up slightly at the sight.

He can't help but find the sight of the other boy wearing his jacket nice and feels the urge to capture it on paper. Marc looks up and shyly smiles at him and Nath feels himself falling a little bit more for him. He clears his throat before speaking.

"Want to sit down?"

Marc simply nods and sits down while Nathaniel sits right next to him, their sides almost touching. They sit quietly, just the sound of the rain filling their ears. Marc finds himself only able to focus on the fact that Nath's leg is so close to touching his. He feels the warmth from the other boy and wonders how it would feel to cuddle into the redhead's side.

He decides to look up and finds himself caught in the mesmerizing gaze of a beautiful blue eye. He wishes he could see them both. He doesn't understand why Nath always keeps one eye mostly covered up all the time. Without thinking much about what he's doing, the writer reaches out and brushes the other boy's hair out of his face so he can see both of his eyes.

The action causes the artist's face to quickly match his hair, but Marc doesn't notice and just keeps looking into his eyes. Without meaning to, the writer allows his gaze to start moving downwards until it stops on the redhead's lips. Once again not thinking about what he's doing, he leans his face slightly closer to Nath's and notices that the artist is doing the same.

Marc closes his eyes as his nose bumps against the shorter boy's. He keeps leaning until he feels a gentle pressure against his lips. He starts slowly moving his mouth against Nath's, too caught up in the moment to be freaking out about what is happening. He moves his hands and they end up tangled in Nathaniel's locks as the blue-eyed boy's hands find a place to rest on the writer's hips.

The kiss gets slightly more heated as they move their mouths together more. After a few seconds, they stop and pull back before their eyes open and green meets blue. Marc breathes heavily, his lips feeling warm and his face heating up, no doubt sporting a severe blush.

But he quickly comes down from the warm, fuzzy feelings and feels the weight of what he just did hit him hard and starts freaking out. He takes deep breaths and looks away from Nathaniel. He should have asked to do that before doing it. What if he weirded Nathaniel out?!

Sure, the other boy kissed back, but he might have been caught up in the moment and couldn't help responding. He doesn't even know if Nath likes boys. His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of an approaching vehicle. He looks up to see the bus approaching. He rubs his arm and nervously glances at the shorter boy, not sure what to say.

He finds that Nathaniel is smiling, his eyes having the same loving look they do when he is talking about Ladybug. He feels a spark of hope at the look. Maybe there is a possibility that Nath could eventually return his feelings. He then blushes more before speaking.

"I'll see you tomorrow.", he quietly says as he gathers his bag and wet hoodie.

"Y-yeah.", Nath breathily replies.

Marc gets onto the bus once it stops and pays his fare before finding a seat in the back. Once sitting, he puts his face in his hands, feeling how hot his skin has become. He knows they'll have to talk about what just happened, but he will deal with that when he has to.

Meanwhile, Nath watches the bus as it rolls away and stands there for a few minutes while the rain slows down some. He then decides to go ahead and leave before the storm can get worse. Nath can't stop smiling as he heads home. He also can't bring himself to care about the rain falling onto him as all he can focus on is the swarm of butterflies in his stomach as he thinks over what just occurred.

He quickly arrives back to the familiar sight of his house and heads inside. He wastes no time in heading upstairs to his room and notices that he's feeling a little cold, so he decides to get himself changed into some dry clothes. He does that quickly then just lays on his bed, committing the feeling of Marc's lips against his to memory. He finds himself looking forward to going to school the next day, which is not a usual occurrence for him since he usually dreads school.

He thinks back to the way that Marc blushed and wonders if there is a chance that he's feeling the same as him. He'll have to talk to him the next time he sees him and try to figure out what's going on between them without ruining anything. He doesn't know if this will affect their friendship or if Marc likes him back. But the only thing he can say with certainty is that he badly wants to kiss the shy boy again.


End file.
